Tag Archives: Media & Change

Post navigation

Mary Hutchinson, direct response maven from “Inspired Direct” outside Boston sent me this most excellent post that you should forward to anyone considering going on TV or starting a non-profit or religious media ministry:

Way back in 2006, the Los Angeles Times tracked the impact of the pornography industry on the emerging technology of the time. I’ve written before on the history of the battle between industry giants VHS and Betamax, back in the early days of home video. Back then, when home video was new, someone could purchase an X-rated video on the phone, and have it mailed to his doorstep in a plain, brown wrapper. For the first time, you could purchase sexually explicit videos without being seen publicly, and the industry literally

As a media consultant, I have the opportunity to help some of the largest churches and ministries in the country create effective, high quality media outreaches. In most cases, they are experienced, committed Christian leaders who understand the value and the power of the media. But I also have the opportunity to spend time with less experienced pastors and ministry leaders who feel just as called to use media in a meaningful way, but have serious questions like:

If you work with religious or non-profit organizations, you know just how limited marketing and media production budgets can be. That’s why I’ve always kept an eye out for alternative marketing and promotion avenues. Things that create a “buzz” without costing an arm and a leg. A few years ago, Keller Fay Group, in association with BzzAgent released a study that indicated the

I spoke to a class of university film students at Biola University in Los Angeles, who asked me to give them some career advice before graduation. A friend, award winning advertising writer David Morgenstern, shared some tips with me for the class that he had given to USC film students a few years ago, and they were so fantastic, I wanted to share them with you:

If your advertising or media programming hasn’t been getting a response lately, the first place you should look is viewer fatigue. In other words, is the audience simply tired of seeing what you’re presenting? Too often, programmers and advertisers (and speakers and pastors) get into a rut. Our spots and videos look alike, we use the same voice over artist, show the same graphic style, or tend to write the same way – over and over again. Viewer fatigue means that

For the answer to this question, I asked Chris Busch, Founder of LightQuest Media in Tulsa, about the right place for the media buy for your religious TV program. His response? Placement of programming (media strategy) is driven by the objectives of the client. If you don’t know where you’re going, then any strategy will

Karen Covell, Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network had an interesting conversation with an employee of a major ministry regarding their position on boycotting the entertainment industry. Karen, (like most of us Christians in the entertainment business) prefer to think of boycotts as a completely last resort. It raises plenty of money for fundraising campaigns, but as a strategy to change the culture, it simply rarely works.

But Karen responded to this ministry with such a clear and direct explanation of her position, I thought it worth posting. With Karen’s permission, here’s her letter:

I work with a few clients who feel like “the more the better” with creative work. They want everyone they can think of to be part of our creative or marketing meetings. But when it comes to brainstorming and creative teams, Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com says to keep them small. Usually, when I’m involved in creative meetings with clients, most organizations want 20-30 people in the meetings and that’s just too

Recently we polled a number of organizations across the country and asked them “What is the biggest obstacle to positive change in your business or organization?” We discovered the answer is poor leadership. It’s the #1 obstacle to change in most organizations. What does that mean? I believe a visionary leader is the single most important issue in making organizational change happen. You can have a great team in place, the best funding, the right resources, and more, but without great leadership,

Post navigation

About Phil

An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. In the process, has been shot at, survived two military coups, fallen out of a helicopter, and in Africa, been threatened with prison. And during that time – through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California – he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture.

Recent Comments

Facebook Likes

About the author

An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. In the process, has been shot at, survived two military coups, fallen out of a helicopter, and in Africa, been threatened with prison. And during that time – through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California – he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture.